JetBlue CEO Warns of Potentially More 5G Flight Disruptions
Photo Credit: A JetBlue Airways tail at New York JFK. Flickr / Ryan McLean
Skift Take
Travelers may yet be forced to trade high-speed wireless data for cancelled flights with JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes warning that the industry faces more potential 5G wireless disruptions this year. But that isn't stopping JetBlue from moving forward with ambitious growth plans.
U.S. airlines may not be out of the the 5G wireless mire yet. At least that’s the view of JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes who warned Thursday that further disruptions are possible as the new high-speed wireless network continues to roll out across the country.
“We can’t assume that we are completely out of the 5G woods yet,” he said during the New York-based carrier’s fourth-quarter results call. Hayes described the current process as “iterative” and expressed optimism that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), airlines, and wireless companies are now communicating about the new technology and working to eliminate any safety risks.
But operational issues remain despite the work. Some of JetBlue’s Embraer E190 jets are unable to operate in limited visibility conditions at certain airports — including some unnamed major ones — warned Hayes. This will impact a “very low percentage of flights,�
